Gus Dur backtracks on his accusations<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid backtracked on
\nTuesday on his accusation that legislators were behind many of
\nIndonesia's current political troubles.<\/p>\n
\"Who said that the troublemakers are (members of) the DPR
\n(House of Representatives)? I did not say that and, frankly
\nspeaking, I asked (for my statement) not to be twisted,\"
\nAbdurrahman told a snap news conference at his office.<\/p>\n
\"What I said was that we know who the troublemakers are and
\nthey are not DPR members, but people on the ground and this is
\nstill being investigated,\" Gus Dur, as the President is called,
\nadded.<\/p>\n
He, however, admitted that he had approved a legal
\ninvestigation into the activities of several legislators and that
\nthey would be \"questioned by law enforcers as witnesses, not as
\ndefendants\".<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman was quoted by the media last week as saying at the
\nclosing of a prodemocracy forum in Bali that several legislators
\nwere behind the violent unrest and problems that have beset the
\ncountry in the past two years.<\/p>\n
He was also quoted at the time as saying that the government
\nhad enough evidence of criminal violations to apprehend the
\nlegislators, although he gave no names.<\/p>\n
Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said on Monday that the
\nlawmakers in question were to be quizzed on corruption charges,
\nnot over violence in the country.<\/p>\n
On a visit to Bogor, West Java, later on Tuesday, House
\nSpeaker Akbar Tandjung revealed that Marzuki told him that Fuad
\nBawazier and Siswono Yudohusodo were among several People's
\nConsultative Assembly legislators to be questioned in connection
\nwith alleged corruption by former president Soeharto. Akbar is
\nGolkar chairman, while Marzuki is his deputy.<\/p>\n
Akbar said National Police chief Gen. Rusdihardjo told him in
\na recent meeting nothing about the plan to question or arrest
\nsome legislators.<\/p>\n
The President on Tuesday also denied a statement attributed to
\nhim while he was in Medan, North Sumatra, on Monday, in which it
\nwas claimed he had urged the police to arrest \"provocateurs\" with
\nor without evidence of any wrongdoing by July 15.<\/p>\n
\"What I said was that whoever the police considered guilty
\nmust be arrested,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak said on Monday that
\nAbdurrahman had given permission to the police and the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office to question \"not more than 10\" members of the
\nHouse and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) over various
\ncases.<\/p>\n
Officials here have said that some people in Jakarta were
\nresponsible for inciting riots in Maluku which had killed
\nthousands of people since the violence first erupted in the
\nprovince 18 months ago.<\/p>\n
Approval from the President as the head of state is required
\nbefore law enforcers can investigate members of the House or the
\nAssembly.<\/p>\n
Marsilam also said on Monday that Abdurrahman denied
\naccusations that revenge motivated him to order that legislators
\nbe investigated.<\/p>\n
The House last week voted overwhelmingly to exercise its
\ninterpellation right and summon the President for questioning
\nover the dismissal of two economics ministers in April.<\/p>\n
Arbitrary<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Bandar Lampung on Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Amien
\nRais warned police and the Attorney General's Office against
\narbitrarily arresting legislators.<\/p>\n
\"I remind the attorney general and the police chief to abide
\nby prevailing laws. (Abdurrahman's) order ... to arrest with or
\nwithout evidence is an incredibly negligent statement,\" Amien was
\nquoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
\"Brother Abdurrahman should have not made the statement,\" he
\nsaid, describing Abdurrahman's use of the word troublemaker as
\n\"indecent\".<\/p>\n
In the latest attack on the President, an influential figure
\nin the B.J. Habibie administration threw his support on Tuesday
\nbehind Megawati Soekarnoputri to replace Abdurrahman.<\/p>\n
Adi Sasono, secretary-general of the Association of Indonesian
\nMuslim Intellectuals, said that Abdurrahman's seven months in
\noffice had proved that \"he is not fit for the job\".<\/p>\n
\"If this man cannot prove that he can manage the country, we
\nshould give the chance to other people,\" Adi was quoted by The
\nAustralian as saying.<\/p>\n
\"The cost is too high. The human cost in the last seven months
\nis much larger than in the last 10 years under Soeharto's time.\"<\/p>\n
Asked who should replace Abdurrahman, Adi said: \"The only
\npossibility from Article 8 in the (1945) Constitution is
\nMegawati.<\/p>\n
Megawati's presidential bid was met with resistance,
\nparticularly from Muslim-based parties. (21\/byg\/prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gus-dur-backtracks-on-his-accusations-1447893297",
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